ExploreMusic
Encyclopedia
ExploreMusic is a Canadian
multimedia rock music recommendation project run by Corus Interactive
and Integrated Solutions, the online arm of Corus Radio. It consists of a website, a syndicated radio show, and a weekly TV show that offers exposure to songs and artists with the vision of providing "context, perspective, recommendation and discovery of music that’s new (or new to you)." ExploreMusic achieves this through artist interviews, exclusive performances, music news, album reviews, and lists of recommended songs that are presented on a daily and weekly basis.
The program was first broadcast on 6 October 2008, and is heard on radio stations across Canada
. It has a weekly audience of approximately one million. The program is also syndicated in the United States
. A television adaptation of the program currently airs on Aux.
and Last.fm
. However, while Pandora and Last.fm work on complex algorithms, ExploreMusic was designed as a place where music fans could turn to discover new music and information about the artists involved, as well as be encouraged to make recommendations themselves with the goal of creating conversation and community. On 1 July 2008, Alan Cross
, the host of The Ongoing History of New Music
and former Program Director of Toronto radio station 102.1 The Edge
, took the position of Senior Program Director at Corus Interactive and Integrated Solutions (then known as Splice). Planning and development continued through the summer.
The program was first broadcast on 6 October 2008 on 102.1 The Edge
in Toronto
, Y108
in Hamilton
, FM96
in London
, Power 97
in Winnipeg
, and The Fox
in Vancouver
. The show has since been included on Live 88.5
in Ottawa
, Rock 101.9
in Cornwall
, X92.9
in Calgary
, SONiC 102.9
in Edmonton
, and The Wolf 101.5
in Peterborough, Ontario
, with plans to branch out to more affiliates in the future. The program began syndication in the United States after ExploreMusic partnered with Friday Morning Quarterback
. It currently airs on two US radio stations, 103.3 The Edge
in Buffalo
, and X103
in Indianapolis
. An estimated one million people listen to the program each week in Canada.
, Ontario
. The four pillars driving the show are context, perspective, recommendation, and discovery. Every song and story featured on ExploreMusic is created in accordance with those four pillars.
The typical show content includes the "Big new song of the day", "The Music News Countdown", which contains the program’s top five music stories of the day, the music recommendation "The Five Songs You Gotta Hear Today", and an abbreviated interview with a musical artist, which frequently includes an exclusive performance of a song.
In January 2009, ExploreMusic TV debuted on BiteTV, a Canadian digital tier channel aimed at males 18-34. Hosted by Cross, the programme is a weekly roundtable discussion on music issues with guests from various parts of the music industry. It currently airs on Aux, produced in cooperation with Corus Entertainment Inc. and GlassBOX Television Inc. The show is currently in its second season on the channel.
and Windows Mobile
through an application developed by Viigo Inc. This application allows users to access the ExploreMusic website and Alan Cross's Twitter
posts. Vice-President of Corus Interactive David Huszar noted that "People aren't buying radio receivers anymore but they're certainly buying smartphones... it's so important for all of our radio entities to be available on the appliances that people are using nowadays to engage with media."
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
multimedia rock music recommendation project run by Corus Interactive
Corus Entertainment
Corus Entertainment Inc. is a publicly traded Canadian media and entertainment conglomerate.Corus is a leading Canadian specialty television and radio producer, with additional assets in pay television, advertising services, television broadcasting, children's book publishing and children's...
and Integrated Solutions, the online arm of Corus Radio. It consists of a website, a syndicated radio show, and a weekly TV show that offers exposure to songs and artists with the vision of providing "context, perspective, recommendation and discovery of music that’s new (or new to you)." ExploreMusic achieves this through artist interviews, exclusive performances, music news, album reviews, and lists of recommended songs that are presented on a daily and weekly basis.
The program was first broadcast on 6 October 2008, and is heard on radio stations across Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. It has a weekly audience of approximately one million. The program is also syndicated in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. A television adaptation of the program currently airs on Aux.
Creation
Prior to the launch of ExploreMusic, there had been a number of discussions within Corus about the need to update the concept of the radio DJ as the trusted filter for new music. With online being the first choice of more and more people looking for new music, the decision was made to create a service where "real people, real passionate music fans, could recommend music to other real passionate music fans, without any sort of mechanical or electronic filters." The concept was inspired by the success of PandoraPandora (music service)
Pandora Radio is an automated music recommendation service and custodian of the Music Genome Project available only in the United States. The service plays musical selections similar to song suggestions entered by a user...
and Last.fm
Last.fm
Last.fm is a music website, founded in the United Kingdom in 2002. It has claimed 30 million active users in March 2009. On 30 May 2007, CBS Interactive acquired Last.fm for UK£140m ....
. However, while Pandora and Last.fm work on complex algorithms, ExploreMusic was designed as a place where music fans could turn to discover new music and information about the artists involved, as well as be encouraged to make recommendations themselves with the goal of creating conversation and community. On 1 July 2008, Alan Cross
Alan Cross
' is a Canadian radio broadcaster and a writer on music. Alan’s obsession with music began at age six when his grandmother gave him a transistor radio—an old Lloyds—which spawned an all-consuming fascination with things that came over airwaves...
, the host of The Ongoing History of New Music
The Ongoing History of New Music
The Ongoing History of New Music is a Canadian radio program, produced by Corus Entertainment's ExploreMusic division in Toronto. The program, hosted by Alan Cross, is syndicated to several other radio stations, mostly but not exclusively Corus-owned, across Canada.The Ongoing History chronicles...
and former Program Director of Toronto radio station 102.1 The Edge
CFNY-FM
CFNY-FM, promoted under the branding 102.1 The Edge, is a Canadian radio station, broadcasting at 102.1 FM. The station rose to prominence in the 1970s and 1980s due to its freestyle DJing format and unique choice to play alternative music...
, took the position of Senior Program Director at Corus Interactive and Integrated Solutions (then known as Splice). Planning and development continued through the summer.
The program was first broadcast on 6 October 2008 on 102.1 The Edge
CFNY-FM
CFNY-FM, promoted under the branding 102.1 The Edge, is a Canadian radio station, broadcasting at 102.1 FM. The station rose to prominence in the 1970s and 1980s due to its freestyle DJing format and unique choice to play alternative music...
in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Y108
CJXY-FM
CJXY-FM is a Canadian radio station, broadcasting at 107.9 FM and serving the Hamilton, Ontario market, but licensed to the nearby city of Burlington. The station broadcasts a mainstream rock format as Y108. Its signal can be heard as far north as Toronto and Vaughan and as far south as St....
in Hamilton
Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...
, FM96
CFPL-FM
CFPL-FM, or FM96, is a radio station owned by Corus Entertainment and based in London, Ontario, Canada that transmits at 179,000 watts at 95.9 MHz on the FM dial...
in London
London, Ontario
London is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada, situated along the Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. The city has a population of 352,395, and the metropolitan area has a population of 457,720, according to the 2006 Canadian census; the metro population in 2009 was estimated at 489,274. The city...
, Power 97
CJKR-FM
CJKR-FM is a Canadian radio station, broadcasting at 97.5 FM in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The station airs an active rock format branded as Power 97. It shares a studio location at 1440 Jack Blick Avenue in Polo Park, Winnipeg, with sister stations CJOB 680 and CJGV-FM "Groove FM". Currently CJKR-FM is...
in Winnipeg
Winnipeg
Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers .The name...
, and The Fox
CFOX-FM
CFOX-FM is a Canadian radio station in the Greater Vancouver region of British Columbia. It broadcasts at 99.3 MHz on the FM band with an effective radiated power of 75,000 watts from a transmitter on Mount Seymour in the District of North Vancouver. Studios are located in Downtown Vancouver,...
in Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
. The show has since been included on Live 88.5
CILV-FM
CILV-FM is a Canadian radio station which broadcasts at 88.5 FM in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The station is owned and operated by Newcap Broadcasting and airs a modern rock format with the brand name LiVE 88.5....
in Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
, Rock 101.9
CJSS-FM
CJSS-FM is a Canadian radio station, which broadcasts at 101.9 FM in Cornwall, Ontario. The station broadcasts a classic hits format branded as Greatest Hits 101.9 FM....
in Cornwall
Cornwall, Ontario
Cornwall is a city in Eastern Ontario, Canada and the seat of the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry, Ontario. Cornwall is Ontario's easternmost city, located on the St...
, X92.9
CFEX-FM
CFEX-FM is modern rock station serving Calgary, Alberta, Canada. In 2006, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission approved a licence for Harvard Broadcasting to start a FM station....
in Calgary
Calgary
Calgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...
, SONiC 102.9
CHDI-FM
CHDI-FM is the callsign of a Canadian radio station, broadcasting at 102.9 FM in Edmonton, Alberta. The station broadcasts a modern rock format under the brand name SONiC 102.9.-General information and history:The OK Radio Group Ltd...
in Edmonton
Edmonton
Edmonton is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta and is the province's second-largest city. Edmonton is located on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Capital Region, which is surrounded by the central region of the province.The city and its census...
, and The Wolf 101.5
CKWF-FM
CKWF-FM is a radio station in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada. The station broadcasts an active rock format branded as The Wolf 101.5.-History:...
in Peterborough, Ontario
Peterborough, Ontario
Peterborough is a city on the Otonabee River in southern Ontario, Canada, 125 kilometres northeast of Toronto. The population of the City of Peterborough was 74,898 as of the 2006 census, while the census metropolitan area has a population of 121,428 as of a 2009 estimate. It presently ranks...
, with plans to branch out to more affiliates in the future. The program began syndication in the United States after ExploreMusic partnered with Friday Morning Quarterback
FMQB
Friday Morning Quarterback is a trade magazine which covers the Radio and Music industries in the United States. Its coverage includes programming, management, promotion, marketing, and airplay for music formatted radio. The magazine was founded in 1968 by Kal Rudman and is read by over 10,000...
. It currently airs on two US radio stations, 103.3 The Edge
WEDG
WEDG is a radio station in Buffalo, New York, USA. The station's on air branding is "103.3 The Edge" and broadcasts on 103.3 MHz FM. WEDG has an active rock format and is best known for its afternoon-drive hosts, "Shredd and Ragan," and being the co-flagship of the Buffalo Bills Radio Network...
in Buffalo
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
, and X103
WRZX
WRZX -- "X103" or "The X" -- is an FM radio station in Indianapolis, Indiana. The modern rock-formatted station is owned by Clear Channel Communications.-History:...
in Indianapolis
Indianapolis
Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
. An estimated one million people listen to the program each week in Canada.
Program
Five thirty-minute radio shows are produced and distributed each week. Meetings to determine the program content are held once a week. Each person attending the meeting brings a list of five songs, two that have been newly released and three that are a year or more older. They discuss the tracks and decide which ones to use on the broadcast, and which to add to the website. Cross noted that "we're appreciative of everybody's diverse tastes. The whole idea is to introduce people to music that is new and new to them." The programs are written and hosted by Alan Cross, and are recorded in TorontoToronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
. The four pillars driving the show are context, perspective, recommendation, and discovery. Every song and story featured on ExploreMusic is created in accordance with those four pillars.
The typical show content includes the "Big new song of the day", "The Music News Countdown", which contains the program’s top five music stories of the day, the music recommendation "The Five Songs You Gotta Hear Today", and an abbreviated interview with a musical artist, which frequently includes an exclusive performance of a song.
In January 2009, ExploreMusic TV debuted on BiteTV, a Canadian digital tier channel aimed at males 18-34. Hosted by Cross, the programme is a weekly roundtable discussion on music issues with guests from various parts of the music industry. It currently airs on Aux, produced in cooperation with Corus Entertainment Inc. and GlassBOX Television Inc. The show is currently in its second season on the channel.
Web content
The topics and categories on the ExploreMusic radio show are also included on the website, often enhanced by links, images, additional text, audio, and video. The site is presented in blog format, with posts tagged as "News", "Reviews", "New Releases", "WTF", and other categories. ExploreMusic TV is seen through the website, as are audio and video podcasts of the previous shows. Every song featured on the website is linked to a sample of the track. The radio program is condensed into a daily podcast; music from the program is not included due to copyright restrictions, but the full interview with the musical artist is included. Web content is available on the BlackBerryBlackBerry
BlackBerry is a line of mobile email and smartphone devices developed and designed by Canadian company Research In Motion since 1999.BlackBerry devices are smartphones, designed to function as personal digital assistants, portable media players, internet browsers, gaming devices, and much more...
and Windows Mobile
Windows Mobile
Windows Mobile is a mobile operating system developed by Microsoft that was used in smartphones and Pocket PCs, but by 2011 was rarely supplied on new phones. The last version is "Windows Mobile 6.5.5"; it is superseded by Windows Phone, which does not run Windows Mobile software.Windows Mobile is...
through an application developed by Viigo Inc. This application allows users to access the ExploreMusic website and Alan Cross's Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
posts. Vice-President of Corus Interactive David Huszar noted that "People aren't buying radio receivers anymore but they're certainly buying smartphones... it's so important for all of our radio entities to be available on the appliances that people are using nowadays to engage with media."
Contributors
The ExploreMusic team currently consists of:- Alan Cross (Host of ExploreMusic and Ongoing History of New Music, curator, and interviewer)
- Mike Sullivan (Producer and interviewer)
- Adam Morrison (Writer, researcher, and blogger)
- Kelly Beveridge (Contributor)
- Andrew Dick (Video Producer)
- Jeff Woods (Host of Legends of Classic Rock)
- David Huszar (Executive Producer)
- Ira Haberman (Creative Director)
- Peter Solala (Director of Sales)
- Michael Parrish (US Syndication)
- Andrew Dick (Video Producer)